PHILLIES NOTEBOOK: Another reliever goes to 15-day DL

PHILADELPHIA – For the third time during their just-completed homestand, the Phillies had to place a relief pitcher on the disabled list.

It started with southpaw Jeremy Horst going on the D.L. with a sprained elbow at the onset of the six-game stretch. Saturday, veteran set-up man Mike Adams was put on the shelf with right biceps tendinitis – an injury that has him heading to Los Angeles while the Phillies are in Southern California so he can get a second opinion.

Sunday it was revealed that Mike Stutes’ assertion that he wasn’t discussing a shoulder issue with Rich Dubee in the dugout after he was shellacked for four runs for a second straight outing Sunday was, in fact, a lie. Stutes also has biceps tendinitis and was placed on the disabled list as well. The Phillies’ options have gotten so thin in the minors that Phillippe Aumont was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, even though his performance since being demoted by the Phils a month ago has been uneven, at best.

Stutes said that he hopes to be out for a minimal amount of time, but his history of frankness when it comes to performances or his physical state should make you take these comments with a boulder-sized grain of salt.

“It’s been sore for a few days, but just something I’ve tried to pitch through,” Stutes said. “We decided it’s better to not let it become something more major.

“It’s very tough. It’s one of those things where you can’t really prepare for it. You don’t really want it to happen. It’s one of those things I’ve worked on, getting back. It’s unfortunate that there’s another small setback. But hopefully that’s all it is.

“I think it’s just a sore thing and just want to make sure it doesn’t get any worse … They were saying don’t throw for a few days, start playing catch again and hopefully 15 days I’ll be back. We’ll see.”

* * *As for Adams, he will pay a visit to Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles, as there is concern that his biceps tendinitis – which connects the large muscle to the shoulder – is showing signs of something more serious than just inflammation.

“There’s some stuff going on that we’re concerned about,” Adams said. “I’m going to see (ElAttrache) and see what he thinks and get his opinion on what he feels the next step’s going to be, and just go from there.”

Adams pitched Wednesday and didn’t have any issues during the outing, but once he got home the pain arrived.

“I tried to lift my little boy up and I wasn’t able to do that,” Adams said. “Just lifting my arm up was pretty uncomfortable. I kind of made my decision then to get it looked at and take a step back and see what was really going on and that’s where we’re at now.

“We did an MRI and there’s some concern.”

* * *John Lannan had his second straight lackluster start since coming off the disabled list following inflammation in his quadriceps tendon. A day earlier, Jonathan Pettibone had to leave his start after the sixth inning when he suffered painful back spasms during a swing.

Carlos Zambrano, meanwhile, seemed to be making a strong case to make his next start with the Phillies after three shutout innings to begin his start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley Sunday evening. However, the veteran right-hander loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, was touched for three runs in that inning, then another in the fifth and suddenly an outing where he allowed 11 base runners in five innings to Columbus didn’t seem to assure him of a spot in the rotation as a replacement for either of those pitchers.

The Phils have until July 1 to add Zambrano to the big-league roster, or set him free. They have maintained they are interested solely in the three-time All-Star as a starter, but that was a claim made before three relievers hit the D.L. in the last week.